Anthony “Big A” Sherrod * Torchbearer Of The Clarksdale Sound *

 

“Big A” is a current bluesman that performs regularly in town.  His natural showmanship that moves and plays with tremendous fun and passion personifies that one can hear authentic music in Clarksdale today… that is as good as it ever was historically.  At present Anthony has a weekly residence at Red’s Lounge, the famous authentic juke joint in Clarksdale’s historic downtown Arts & Culture District.

Like his deep delta blues forefathers,  young Anthony’s introduction to music was found in the church.  His father, E.J. Johnson, was a gospel singer that performed with The Golden Stars gospel group.  By age 6, Anthony started playing, and he hasn’t stopped since.  He is professionally proficient on bass and guitar,  and he also plays drums, keyboards, and is the lead vocalist in his current band, Big A and the Allstars.

Anthony is also a wonderful example of the success of the blues music education after-school program at the Delta Blues Museum.   There Anthony studied under bluesman, Mr. Johnnie Billington, where he not only developed a keen appreciation for the blues and it’s historic Clarksdale legacy, but he also learned to play and craft his music through Billington’s experienced mastery, where he tutored young Anthony with a strict practice schedule of both music development… and a focus on learning important life lessons as well.

As a young bass player, Anthony took the stage with Buddy Guy in Clarksdale.  He regularly played at Delta Blues Museum events and held a Thursday gig at an important former Clarksdale venue, Sarah’s Kitchen.  He has also appeared in a documentary film, played overseas, and regularly performs throughout the region and at festivals in the Mississippi Delta and across the country.

Info: 

Sherrod - City of Clarksdale | Official Site

City of Clarksdale

https://www.cityofclarksdale.org 

In the middle of the Mississippi winter, just six weeks into 2025, Jimbo Mathus set up two microphones in an old Clarksdale storefront. He was satisfied with the way the plaster-coated bricks cradled the sound, so he knew he could keep it simple—one mic for the singer, one suspended over the room for everything else. The singer, after all, was a son of these Clarksdale Blues: Anthony “Big A” Sherrod, a local ace who had been raised by a gospel family and the after-school program of the Delta Blues Museum and become the godson of Big Jack Johnson. Mathus knew Big A could carry the day.

Indeed, these five songs, captured in only two hours by the intuitive quartet that Big A leads, hinge on “My Life,” half a talking blues and half a soulful celebration mapping his journey from the kid in short pants learning the bass to the man who has become a mainstay at Red’s Lounge in Clarksdale. He dispenses valuable life lessons in “Everybody Ain’t Your Friend,” a peppy testament against smiling posers, and “Baby That Hurt,” where his licks flicker like an anxious and troubled heart. Here are the Clarksdale blues touched by love, loss, and a little psychedelia, captured straight to tape in the town where they were born.

Se lanzó el 1 de junio de 2025

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Photo : https://www.musicmaker.org/artist/anthony-big-a-sherrod/